State Council Policy Briefing
In April this year, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee emphasized the need to prioritize attracting foreign investment and stabilize the fundamentals of foreign trade and investment. Recently, the State Council issuedthe "Opinions on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Strengthening Efforts to Attract Foreign Investment."On August 14, the State Council Information Office held a regular policy briefing to introduce the continuous deepening of reform and opening up and the practical optimization of the business environment. Let’s take a look—
Q1 Q: What are the main characteristics of the "Opinions on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Increasing Efforts to Attract Foreign Investment"? A: First, expanding the breadth and depth of opening up.For example, intensifying efforts to pilot comprehensive trials for expanding openness in the service sector; encouraging foreign-invested enterprises and their established R&D centersto undertake major scientific research projects; establishing and improving a foreign exchange management facilitation system for qualified foreign limited partners, supporting direct domestic investments using raised offshore RMB funds, among other measures. Second, we will facilitate investment and business operations.For example,entry-exit and residence conveniences will be provided to foreign executives and technical personnel of foreign-funded enterprises as well as their family members; and eligible foreign-funded enterprises will have access togreen channelsConduct security assessments efficiently for cross-border data transfers involving important data and personal information; carry out special inspections to ensure fair participation of business entities in government procurement activities; promote the formulation and revision of standards.Full disclosure throughout the process, supporting foreign-invested enterprises to participate equally in standard-setting activities in accordance with the law; improving the rapid collaborative protection mechanism for intellectual property rights, and expediting the processing of cases with clear facts and conclusive evidence according to the law, among other measures. Third, increasing efforts to guide foreign investment.For example, supporting regions in implementing complementary incentive measures for foreign-invested enterprises that meet the requirements of the Encouraged Foreign Investment Industry Catalog within their statutory authority; supporting foreign-invested enterprises in advanced manufacturing and other fields to collaborate with vocational colleges and training institutionsto carry out vocational education and training; exploring innovative procurement cooperation methods and supporting foreign-invested enterprises through measures such as first purchases and ordersto develop globally leading innovative products in China.etc. Fourth, strengthen efforts to promote foreign investment and enhance service guarantees.For instance,establish and improve the roundtable meeting system for foreign-invested enterprises; encourage regions to explore more flexible and effective employment mechanisms and compensation systems for non-civil servant and non-public institution positions in foreign investment promotion departments and teams, thereby strengthening staffing for foreign investment promotion; improve the issuance of Certificates of Origin under free trade agreements,facilitating foreign-invested enterprises' access to tariff reduction policies.etc. Q2 Q: What measures will the Ministry of Commerce take in the second half of the year to promote foreign investment? A: First, we will continue to host the "Invest in China Year" series of investment promotion events.In the second half of the year, we will persistently build the "Invest in China" brand, making the "Invest in China Year" activities even more exciting. Two major events are planned for September: one is a special promotion session on expanding openness in the service sector during the Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services, organized by the Ministry of Commerce; the other is the keynote forum of "Invest in China Year" along with a Fujian special promotion session during the Xiamen International Investment and Trade Fair. Later, during the China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November, a series of events including the "Invest in China Year" Summit and special promotions for pilot free trade zones will be held. Second, we will coordinate resources for foreign investment promotion.The Ministry of Commerce will fully mobilize resources from all sides, leverage platforms such as economic and trade exhibitions, free trade pilot zones, and national-level development zones to support local investment attraction efforts, and guide localities in conducting foreign investment promotion activities in a sustained, effective, and orderly manner. Third, optimizing methods for promoting foreign investment.We will guide local governments to actively explore and boldly innovate, using various methods such as industrial chain investment promotion and business-led investment promotion to carry out more targeted foreign investment promotion activities. This involves integrating investment attraction with "stabilizing, supplementing, and strengthening industrial chains," as well as with "attracting talent, intelligence, and technology," to introduce high-quality foreign capital that addresses weaknesses and enhances strengths. We will also guide local governments to establish and improve evaluation systems for the effectiveness of foreign investment promotion, placing greater emphasis on the actual contributions of investment attraction to economic and social development. Q3 Q: Where can foreign-invested enterprises raise questions regarding the implementation of the "Opinions"? A: The Ministry of Commerce will collaborate with relevant departments to dynamically track policy implementation, identifying and addressing bottlenecks and challenges through field research and enterprise forums to ensure the policy achieves its intended results and enhances the tangible benefits for foreign-invested enterprises. During the implementation process, any questions from foreign-invested enterprises can bedirected to the Key Foreign Investment Projects Task Force under the Ministry of Commerce and commerce departments at various levels.。 In line with the State Council's directives, the Ministry of Commerce recently upgraded the foreign trade and investment coordination service mechanism to establish a roundtable meeting system for foreign-invested enterprises, further expanding channels for collecting issues and feedback to promptly address and resolve enterprise concerns. By the end of July, the Ministry of Commerce also formulatedguidance documents for the roundtable meetings of foreign-invested enterprises.and distributed to various regions for implementation. It is also recommended that all localities follow this approach by establishing a foreign-invested enterprise roundtable meeting system at the provincial level, and where conditions permit below the provincial level, such meetings can also be established as needed. Foreign-invested Enterprise Roundtable Meeting SystemIt mainly has three characteristics:First, it is flexible and diverse, not bound by formalities.Meetings can be held by inviting foreign-invested enterprises to government offices to listen to their opinions and demands, or by proactively visiting enterprises and production sites to provide on-site services.Second, it emphasizes two-way communication and practical results.We do not impose rigid constraints on corporate statements. Foreign-funded enterprises are encouraged to get straight to the point, share honest opinions and ideas, address issues head-on, and engage in open and candid discussions.Respond to inquiries on the spot whenever possible.For issues that cannot be addressed immediately, further research will be conducted, and timely feedback will be provided to the enterprises.Third, implement list management to form a closed loop.We require commercial authorities to establish a list and ledger for issues raised by enterprises, clarify responsible departments, enhance follow-up supervision, and ensure proper resolution, timely replies within deadlines, and prompt feedback. Q4 Q: What measures will the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology take to promote foreign investment in the manufacturing sector? A: The first is to continuously strengthen the construction of a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized.It involves fully implementing the Foreign Investment Law, adhering to the principle of "equal treatment for domestic and foreign investments" in resource allocation, qualification licensing, government procurement, and standard setting, and legally protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises and entrepreneurs alongside all types of ownership enterprises. The second is to further improve the service and guarantee mechanism for key foreign-invested projects in the manufacturing sector.This includes actively coordinating to resolve difficulties encountered by key foreign-funded enterprises in project implementation and operation, thereby boosting the confidence of foreign investors in China. The third is to conscientiously implement the Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment (2022 Edition).Guide foreign investment towards advanced manufacturing, energy conservation, and environmental protection sectors, as well as China's central-western and northeastern regions, to further enhance the quality of foreign investment attraction, optimize its distribution, and improve the utilization of foreign capital in the manufacturing industry. Q5 Q: What measures will the Ministry of Finance take next to optimize the foreign investment environment in the government procurement sector? A: Next, the Ministry of Finance will, in accordance with the requirements of the "Opinions," continue to optimize the government procurement business environment for fair competition, better ensuring equal participation of domestic and foreign-funded enterprises in government procurement activities. The main measures include:Actively advancingthe revision of the Government Procurement Law and the coordination and unification of the Government Procurement Law and the Tendering and Bidding Law, striving to enhance the systematicness, integrity, and synergy of the government procurement legal system;Clarifying the specific standards for "produced within China" in the government procurement sector, focusing on ensuring equal participation of products manufactured by domestic and foreign-funded enterprises within China in government procurement activities;conduct special inspections, ensuring fair participation of business entities in government procurement activities, and legally correcting and investigating illegal activities such as differential or discriminatory treatment against foreign-invested enterprises.
